Down into Quarters, Monaghan out

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Round 4:
Down 3-20 Sligo 0-10

Down have reached the GAA All-Ireland Football Senior Championship quarter-finals for the first time after dismantling Sligo on a 3-20 to 0-10 scoreline at Kingspan Breffni Park on Saturday evening.

Since the introduction of the second chance for sides defeated in their provincial championships in 2001, the Mourne Men had never managed to necklace together enough wins in the back door to reach the last eight, but there was no doubting their superiority here.

Right from the off, James McCartan’s side had the edge, leaving Sligo to join Louth, Limerick and Monaghan in the group of provincial finalists unable to regroup after their defeats.

After throw-in was delayed due to crowd congestion, Down had three points on the board before Adrian Marren opened Sligo’s account, and though this signalled a slight revival, with the lead down to 0-5 to 0-3 by the 18th minute, five in a row – including three from Martin Clarke – extended Down’s advantage.

When Clarke’s brother John found the net soon after and Paul McComiskey followed up with a point, leaving Sligo with an uphill task at the break, as they trailed by 1-10 to 0-6.

While it might have been Sligo who needed the strong start to the second half, it was Down who got it as they scored an extra 1-2, with captain Ambrose Rogers scoring 1-1, and sub Ronan Murtagh scored five points to make it 2-7 to 0-8. Late on, Murtagh added a goal of his own to leave 19 points in it at the end.

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All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Round 4:
Kildare 1-15 Monaghan 1-11

Kildare recovered from a poor start to claim a 1-15 to 1-11 victory over Monaghan at Croke Park on Saturday afternoon in Round 4 of the GAA All-Ireland Football Senior Championship Qualifiers.

The win, which means a third successive appearance in the All-Ireland quarter-finals for the Lilywhites, was founded on an excellent performance in the second and third quarters of this match, more or less putting the game beyond Monaghan.

The Farney Men, no doubt still suffering the after-effects of last week’s loss to Tyrone in the Ulster final, started well but soon flagged once Kildare began to assert their dominance, and though a late goal got them back in contention, their Leinster opponents had built up a lead that was going to be too big to overhaul.

Dermot Earley at midfield was his usual towering self for Kildare, while James Kavanagh, who has been impressive throughout this run through the qualifiers, was again impressive.

Early on, it looked as if the demands of having to play in five consecutive weeks were impinging on Kildare, as, after the 20-minute mark, Monaghan led by 0-4 to 0-1. Tommy Freeman, Ciaran Hanratty, Ciaran McManus and Owen Lennon were all on target, with a point from Alan Smith Kildare’s only response as John Doyle struggled from placed balls.

Four points on the trot from Kildare as half-time neared ate into the Ulster side’s advantage, however, and when Doyle opened his account in injury time, Kieran McGeeney’s side led by 0-6 to 0-5.

Three points from Kavanagh, with Eoghan O’Flaherty and Alan Smith also on target, opened up a nice lead early in the second half and sub Ronan Sweeney put a nice gloss on that advantage 18 minutes from time when he found the net to put Kildare eight in front.

Monaghan, to their credit, never gave up, but they needed more than a late foal from Hugh McElroy if they were to mount a sustainable comeback, but Kildare stood firm to ensure they had four points to spare by the end.